Black Tape For A Blue Girl – Sampler (CD)

4 songs on Projekt Records, which brings the total running time of the disc to 15:04, around 3:46 per song. “Remnants of Deeper Purity” has a richer collection of voices then “this lush garden within” but falls a little short in the instrumental department. This is not to say that the instrumentation is weak by any means, as a number of traditional instruments are played over a very fitting synth line.

“Across A Thousand Blades” has the honor of sounding much like the great Goth acts of the 1980’s while having the darker, harder edge that more of the 1990’s-era bands had. The one thing that has always been one of the biggest selling points for me with Black Tape For A Blue Girl is the fact that all of their music is totally different from each other yet inexorably linked to each other. When the brave listener slides on the headphones, starts up a Black Tape For A Blue Girl CD, he or she is taking a journey.

The rich instrumentation along with all of the layers and rich vocals on the CD tell a story that is unable to be heard unless the listener is in a meditative state. 2001 marks the 15th year of existence for this magnificent band, and in honor of that, I would recommend that all 5 or so of my readers go out and buy a Black Tape For A Blue Girl album for a experience devoid of time or space. As with all samplers, this CD is just too short to accurately gain a feel for the band, but I am lucky because I own “This Lush Garden Within”. As always, through the original Black Tape For A Blue Girl songs, the electronics played by Sam are some of the most enjoyable to come out of the 20th century.

While a lot of the arrangements on the disc sound similar, an acute listener can hear the minute differences in each. Keep in mind that all of these wonderful lyrics and music are written by the one man and overall lord of the Goth music scene today, Sam Rosenthal. He is one of the most unrecognized composers that this world has to offer, and easy could he best such so-called greats as Philip Glass and Walter Carlos. The two also didn’t own a record company, something Sam is most definitely guilty of being a part of. For a good start to Goth music, get a Black Tape For A Blue Girl CD. Contact Projekt at Projekt Records, box 9140, Long Island City, NY 11103 or write blacktape@projekt.com or go to http://www.projekt.com